no period..

[Wahine]

So this is a bit of a drift from topic, and I'm sorry if it's a stupid question (I know very little about biology/physiology) . . . What about the new birth control pills where you only have 1 period a year? Does this pose problems with calcium absorption? Or do the hormones in the pills keep everything reasonably balanced?

The body requires naturally occuring steriods (progesterone and estrogen in women and testosterone in men, although women produce testosterone as well but at a much lower level), to maintain bone mass. This is related to the bodies ability to assimilate minerals and calcium into bone. BC pills work by providing a continuous levels of pro. and est. that mimics pregnancy and subsequently ovulation. So I would assume that these new generation BC pills would still allow for normal absorption of nutrients into bone. I don't know that for sure but it's good in theory. In fact, I believe that some anorexic women are placed on BC pills to try to prevent bone loss as their bodies are no longer producing the required hormones.

Men also get bone density problems if they do not have enough testosterone in their system. The first treatment in these cases is testosterone replacement therapy.